Henman retains passion for tennis

Sunday 21 January 2007 00:08 BST

Former British number one Tim Henman insists he "still really enjoys" the game despite reports that he is set to announce his retirement.

Henman, 32, has called a press conference for Thursday where he intends to put an end to speculation by spelling out his intentions for the rest of the year. But although he admits that injuries are catching up with him, he believes his passion for competition is as strong as ever.

Henman, whose briefing comes as part of the build-up to the US Open in New York, said: "Because of the recent press speculation I will be holding a press conference in New York ahead of the US Open at 11am (4pm UK time) on Thursday to discuss my plans for the remainder of 2007."

It will be Henman's chance to confirm or deny suggestions that he will call time on his career at the end of Britain's Davis Cup clash against Croatia, which begins on September 21.

Lawn Tennis Association chief executive Roger Draper has gone on record as saying Henman has yet to make an official decision about his future and may yet opt to take one last tilt at the elusive Wimbledon title after four appearances in the semi-finals.

And comments made by the player on his official website, www.timhenman.org, suggest that he still has the enthusiasm, if not the fitness, to continue.

He said: "I still really enjoy practising and training and also playing matches, it's just frustrating that my body has struggled to cope with what I've been asking it to do in the past couple of years.

"Having a family has certainly changed the way I look at the world and also to a certain extent my priorities in life, but I would not go so far as to say that it has diminished my hunger for the game."

He continued: "I was also planning to play in New Haven this week but I had to pull out because I'm having a few problems with my back.

"I'm not fully fit, so my focus at the moment is to try to get my back sorted out and then to take it from there."